Go West

IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about a crazy group of pioneers who braved the harsh elements and numerous mishaps to travel thousands of miles out west to find a place to call home.

The film was directed by Stephen Meek and Jeremy Warner. Writing credits go to Adam Berg, Whitney Call, and Mallory Everton.

The cast came from a group of college students at Brigham Young University who performed in a comedy troupe called Studio C. Since graduating, they're known as JK! Studios. I'm so happy for them and their success. Congratulations on making a feature film together! Their true-blue fans will definitely get a kick out of this campy flick.

THINGS I LIKED: The comedic cast includes Natalie Madsen, Whitney Call, Stephen Meek, Matthew Meese, Jason Gray, Mallory Everton, Jeremy Warner, James Perry, Stacey Harkey, Adam Berg, Ruth Clarke, Matt Moen, and many more. Almost all of them played more than one character, showcasing their versatile talents.

The title has previously been used in a Buster Keaton movie in 1925, then in another movie in 1940 with the Marx Brothers. The 1979 song by The Village People, which was later covered by the Petshop Boys in 1992, is featured in this movie.

I adore Sean Astin and loved him in The Lord of the Rings. (Best movie trilogy ever!) His character in that movie says, "Potatoes...boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in your shoe." Loved it. We hear that same line used by one of the characters in this movie as a sweet nod to Sean Astin as the narrator. Nice touch.

There's a random musical number that's actually pretty funny.

The film was written by JK! Studios themselves, but there are also gems in the film when cast members improv'd many lines, enhancing the script. For example, the "I want to watch a man go over a waterfall..." moment in the campfire scene was delivered by Mallory Everton spontaneously.

Jeremy Warner acted in the film, co-directed the film, co-wrote the film, did most of the editing, and much of the special effects, as well as all of the musical score used in the film.

They filmed in Utah, mostly outdoors, from October 15 to Nov 11, 2022, to get the movie in the can before winter. The weather quickly turned frigid and began to snow halfway through their shoot. Luckily, it was in sequence, so most of the snow worked for them and they ended up with some perfectly snowy backgrounds on set as a result. While the snow was beautiful to look at, it made for very cold filming sessions throughout the production.

Stacey Harkey actually played in a couple of video ads for a dating app my son invented called Mutual.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Not all of the humor lands, but sometimes, the writers knock it out of the park.

I adore Mallory Everton, so I was disappointed that she didn't get to play more characters and show off her wide range.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: No profanity.

There is a LOT of potty humor and jokes in poor taste Lots of blood, snot, and talk of other bodily fluids.

When I first saw the ads and trailer for this movie (showing in Tucson) I wondered if I should go. But I decided it would be nice to see a NON-MARVEL film, since Marvels are all simply terrible now, and also to support a new film from independent film makers.

I am glad I went! This is a film that looks and IS far better than it's modest budget would indicate! The writing is excellent, incisive and hilarious. You will have to watch closely so you don't miss some of the humor, as it moves very briskly along. There are no slow spots in this film. The photography, the music, and the details of the scenes and wardrobes are all top class. It's kind of like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail Go Cowboy" As one woman who was watching it near me commented at the end: "Well, that was just totally cute, wasn't it?" I had to agree about that! This is a film without a message or agenda, just a fluffy movie of pioneer humor, that works from the beginning to the end. They also take the "mystical advice from beyond the grave" that is taken so seriously in everything from Star Wars to Spiderman, and give it a far more funny twist that is probably more accurate, too, if such phantom advice even exists.

It was an enjoyable afternoon!

Some funny stuff, but jokes about bodily functions play way too much of a role in the move (usually bowel movements and farting).

It was kind of a feminist movie (i.e., it likes to man-bash and cry about the oppression of women).

It's basically a compilation of skits thrown together to form a story, and, while some are humorous, many of the skits lack a solid punchline (they just kind of just fizzle out).

Lastly, I am not sure what is included in the content advisory for this film, but there are some aspects of this movie that some audience members will not appreciate. Specifically, the film treats making a deal with the devil as a silly, no-big-deal sort of thing; there is a surprising amount of blood (especially in the blood coughs); and there is a torture scene (that is played for fun but does involve real torture methods).

I'm a big fan of the original cast of Studio C for their light-hearted humor in sketch comedy. This movie is a longer version of a sketch comedy with many jokes- some hits, some misses- that decently highlight the humor style of each of the cast members. You can see hints/characteristics of old Studio C characters throughout the movie. If you are already a fan of the cast and are familiar with their style of humor, I think you will enjoy a decent portion of this film. But if not, maybe try some of their old Studio C videos to see if you like this type of humor first.

My favorite characters in this movie are played by Jason and Whitney as usual.

I love the "old Studio C" cast, or JK studios as they are now called. I started watching their content back in 2014, and have been a big fan ever since. From old YouTube videos of Divine Comedy, to Studio C, and finally JK Studios, I have enjoyed their creative talent, friendship, and passion for brightening people's lives with their humor. I was very excited when I heard they were making a movie.

Now I have to be honest with you, I did not enjoy the film as much as I wanted to. I thought the humor was okay, and good at times, but not great. I thought Matt's characters failed to capture the range he has. I would have also liked to see more from Adam, who was hardly in this movie.

It felt like multiple sketches loosely woven together. The overall plot or story just didn't hold that much tension (if that's the right word). It had some good sketches (although not all were great) but lacked overall cohesion besides having reoccurring characters. The attempt was there, but it just was missing something.

The humor was good (sometimes a bit on the gross side) but I think it lacked variety, or maybe they could have developed some stronger jokes that felt natural with the story/plot of the film. Not all of the jokes were bad, but they averaged on ok to good, when I was hoping for more.

If you guys are reading this, I hope you don't take this personally. I don't want to discount the effort you put into this project. Even though I think this wasn't your best work, I sincerely hope you continue making movies, sketch comedy, T-Shirts, whatever, I'm here for it. You have made a great impact in so many people's lives, including mine. I am so grateful that you put yourselves out there again and again. Looking forward to your next big project.